The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

According to an article in The Nassau Guardian Monday, 26 June 2023, the Bahamas National Statistical Institute (BNSI) released the latest labour force survey revealing that little more than 55% percent of the labour force completed secondary schools, 4% percent finished primary school and 26% percent finished university.

Minister of Economic Affairs Micheal Halkitis stated the Government had reviewed this matter, this evidence, facts and proof verify and confirm my statements that for over 50 years the government has failed the Bahamian people, parents and their children, in being able to prepare the children with a good education. To be able to get high paying salaried jobs and have a great chance to make it economically in being able to afford the high cost of living in The Bahamas.

In renting apartments, purchasing a home, cars, buying groceries, paying light bills and water bills. This is also the reason why there are so many young adults who are in prisons, who are repeated criminal offenders, because not being properly educated they are more tempted to make money by becoming a gang member, drug dealer and joining criminal enterprise organisations in The Bahamas, there is another problem that is also contributing to the decline in the government educational systems - the poor performances of teachers teaching the children in government schools. I believe strongly that teachers must also be held accountable for bad grades from their students, so I would put in place a review performance on every government schools teacher, that will evaluate them at the end of every year based on the grades of the students in their classrooms that they are teaching.

To allow the unaccountability of teachers underperforming in classrooms is unacceptable and should not be tolerated at the disadvantage of Bahamian students failing in being properly educated and prepared to graduate from High School and go to College.

The high crime rate problem in The Bahamas is a result of a terrible failing government educational system for over 50 years, there has been no vision, idea and plan to address this vexing problem when the education system for 50 years is failing and continues to fail Bahamian parents and children.

This is why so many high salaried jobs in The Bahamas are advertised and are filled by foreign workers in The Bahamas. If you do not have qualified Bahamian people to fill these high skilled paying salaried jobs then you have no other choice but to hire foreign nationals, this is happening at major companies and hotels in The Bahamas because Bahamians are not qualified for these jobs, it is not something that the government is not aware about, but they have failed to adequately address this major problem facing The Bahamas and the Bahamian people having them unqualified to get jobs that have to be offered to foreign nationals in The Bahamas, so this is why companies and hotels in The Bahamas have a high demand for foreign nationals to work at their companies. This has been going on for the last 50 years in The Bahamas.

Without having an ability to get a high paying job because of the poor government educational system it is the number one reason why the children are turning to gangs, drug dealing and criminal enterprise organisations, if you do not educate the children then you have just created the problem of having career criminals that will be committing crimes, robberies and murders.

This is why The Bahamas’ high crime rates have increased and it is getting worse every year. The other contributing factor is high unemployment around 25% among young adults every year, not having a job gives them a greater temptation to commit crimes, join gangs and criminal enterprise organisations in The Bahamas.

I have a comprehensive educational system to make sure that every child learns how to read, write and have the best academic opportunities to be ready and prepared to graduate from High School and go on to College.

One Nation, One people, One Bahamas and One God - onward forward and upward to a better Bahamas.

PEDRO SMITH

Nassau,

June 27, 2023.